The Inside Llewyn Davis Trailer Introduces Us To Folksy Justin Timberlake, And I Like It

We haven’t heard as much from Justin Timberlake these days as we did a couple of months ago when practically every TV show, song and news story found some way to relate to him. But don’t you worry, Timberladies, Justin hasn’t gone far. He’s continuing his monopoly on 2013 pop culture (positive edition — Justin Bieber has the negative edition covered) by starring in the new movie Inside Llewyn Davis. And it’s not just a movie. It’s a film. A film that took home the runner-up Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. So the film snobs approved, in spite of (or perhaps because of?) Justin Timberlake’s presence. And Justin doesn’t just play his suit-and-tie-wearing self here. Oh no, there’s nary a suit and tie on him in this trailer, but there is a scruffy beard, which I must say I’m kind of digging. It’s like Shakespeare meets Stan from Mad Men.

The movie’s about a struggling folk singer (played by Oscar Isaac, who looks like if Jake Johnson and David Krumholtz had a lovechild) in 1961. He travels around with his cat, which automatically makes a movie better (I mean, did you see The Heat?), and there looks to be plenty of gloomy tones and guitar-tinged ditties. There’s also Carey Mulligan playing another American, this time a kind of mean-looking one with long hair. And John Goodman’s there, so you know everything’s going to be just fine, in this movie and in the world in general. Plus Garrett Hedlund shows up to continue his “oh yeah, that guy” streak. And it’s directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, whose movies always look good to me, but then when I see them I just don’t get it. But the critics and the Oscars and humanity in general seem to agree that they’re simply the best. If you watched No Country For Old Men and didn’t have your breath taken away at the end, then what it wrong with you, you heathen?! Is what they say. Pretty much.

But back to folksy Justin Timberlake. I kind of like it. Some people might question why he was cast in this important piece of cinema, but it is music-related, and he is a musician. Plus he’s proven himself to be a pretty good actor in movies like The Social Network. I might not be ready to bring my much-needed Timberbreak to a close just yet, but when this movie comes out later this year I’m probably going to see it. For Justin and the cat, but also for other reasons.